Wonderfall

by Michael Hall, Michael Hall (Illustrator)

Overview

This beautiful and informative picture book follows a single tree through the fall season, from the end of summer to winter’s first snowfall. A great read-aloud for home and the classroom by the New York Times–bestselling creator of My Heart Is Like a Zoo and Red: A Crayon’s Story.

Wonderfall follows a single tree through the changing of the seasons. People, animals, and vehicles pass in front of the tree, celebrating holidays, playing in its leaves, and getting ready for winter. Fifteen combined words (thankful + fall = thankFALL, plentiful + fall = plentiFALL) underscore the themes and concepts of the season, while the main attraction—the beautiful tree—drops acorns, loses leaves, and provides food and a home for a pair of scurrying squirrels. Two full spreads at the back of the book offer additional information about the animals featured in the book, as well as the science behind squirrels, acorns, and saplings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062382986
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where autumn was memorable for football, floats, caramel apples, and spectacular colors. He is the creator of several acclaimed picture books for children, including  Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayon’s Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and It’s an Orange Aardvark! Michael Hall now lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota—another city that shimmers in the fall.

Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where autumn was memorable for football, floats, caramel apples, and spectacular colors. He is the creator of several acclaimed picture books for children, including  Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayon’s Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and It’s an Orange Aardvark! Michael Hall now lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota—another city that shimmers in the fall.

Editorial Reviews

…pays punning homage to the season…[Hall's] collages…reminiscent of Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, are reminders of the shapes within shapes that make up all we see.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

07/04/2016
An oak tree, with cutout leaves and a pair of squirrels cavorting through its branches, narrates Hall’s (Frankencrayon) pensive story, watching as autumn arrives. In a bit of seasonal punning, the title of each free-verse poem substitutes the word fall for the suffix -ful. In “Peacefall,” the oak’s acorns drop, “plink, plunk, plop.” In “Dutifall,” the tree notices schoolchildren carrying knapsacks waiting beneath it: “The busy/ yellow/ bus is/ back.” Slowly the tree’s leaves change color and drop (the poems’ verticality echoes this action), and after the last leaves have fallen and geese fly south, three spreads herald another seasonal change: “Will/ this night... bring/ the/ first... snowfall!” Hall’s crisp, graphic digital collages provide plenty to talk about, and the puns add another layer of interest. Ages 4–8. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Olswanger Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Hall’s exuberant style, with bright colors and crisp, digitally rendered shapes, is engaging, and the closing sequence leading up to the snowfall is one that all children will understand and enjoy.

Horn Book Magazine

The poems are pleasing to the ear, and the anthropomorphized tree is certain to engage young listeners. ...This will be an attractive and useful addition to storytime or unit on trees, autumn, or poetry.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

08/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Hall explores the joys of autumn on a farm from the perspective of an oak tree. Each page features a spread with the aforementioned tree on the right, plus a few ubiquitous squirrels, as the season changes. Each spread includes a short poem on the left page with a title that contains the word fall. The wordplay is clever, and older kids will feel bright when they get it. The youngest might not get the joke, but it isn't necessary to enjoy the book. The tree and squirrels witness many things: apple harvest ("Plentifall"), fall colors of the farmer's market ("Beautifall"), a parade ("Eventfall"), and Halloween ("Frightfall"). Children play in the falling leaves, a wicked wind blows, the family cleans up, geese migrate, and, finally, "Snowfall." Hall's bold digital illustrations have the look and feel of pictures made from construction paper shapes. He uses basic shapes and designs combined with plenty of white space and autumn colors to perfectly encapsulate the theme of the work. VERDICT An excellent seasonal addition, great for storytime and as a catalyst for poetry writing or artwork.—Catherine Callegari, Formerly at Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

School Library Journal

★ 2016-06-22
Using the point of view of a tree as his visual constant, Hall offers 15 poems inspired by mashed-up words—"Peacefall," "Plentifall," and so on—to discover autumn's many delights.Days come and go as an unnamed tree observes life and everything else that goes on all around it. The first few double-page spreads set up the languid pace: the drop of acorns, the beginning of a new school year. Soon, some of the tree's leaves change color. "Autumn / colors, / all around. / And look / (rustle, rustle)— / I'm dressed / for the / season, / too." The spare text knits a tapestry of gentle, joyous scenes. Trick-or-treaters pass by wearing ghoulish masks, a pair of raccoons feasts on a slice of pumpkin pie, and children play with the fallen leaves. Hall's digital artwork employs a bold palette on white and soft- to deep-blue backgrounds, accentuating the text's warmly affectionate tone. Various animals weave in and out of each scenario, including a pair of spirited squirrels with a preference for acorns. Each turn of the page enfolds readers into the passage of time. As the tree says goodbye to migrating geese, the narrative becomes even quieter. "See / the mist. / Hear / the quiet. / Smell / the cold." Readers know just what's around the corner. Concluding notes on the various critters the tree observes add some scientific punch. A haunting journey through autumn and a lovely triumph. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews